


It's a Damn Cold Night( I'm with You)

by Hclxs



Series: Like  Battleships [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Needs a Hug, Aaron Hotchner centric, Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Flashbacks, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Gideon is kinda a dick sometimes not gonna lie, Healing, Hurt Aaron Hotchner, I Mean He Got Stabbed Alot, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Male-Female Friendship, NA meetings, Original Character-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Starts at Episode:s05e01 Nameless Faceless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hclxs/pseuds/Hclxs
Summary: He watched as she laid down on the floor, motioning for him to follow her actions. Hotch wasn't stupid and he knew Annie, she wasn't going to say what she wanted until she was sure he was listening. She would have made a good public speaker or poet if she wasn't better at saving people. So he laid down beside her and stared at the seemingly ever-changing ceiling, she said it was an Infinity Mirror Room, whatever that was.She waited for a few before finally speaking and he briefly wondered if she was figuring out what she needed to say. Probably not. "I used to come to one of these whenever I was high, didn't matter where I was but I'd find one near me. I would just stare at the ceiling and walls for hours, and I realized I was traded a lifetime of everything for just a few moments of euphoria or complete emptiness and I wanted to actually feel everything, I wanted to feel fucking yugen. So I kept coming back because high or not it's just a room with a bunch of mirrors. It's not magic. You have to feel it, Aaron, at some point before it destroys you."
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & David Rossi, Aaron Hotchner & Emily Prentiss, Aaron Hotchner & Jack Hotchner, Aaron Hotchner & Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Aaron Hotchner/Original Female Character(s), Elle Greenaway & Original Female Character(s), Jack Hotchner & Original Female Character(s), Spencer Reid & Original Character(s), The BAU Team & Aaron Hotchner, The BAU Team & Original Character(s)
Series: Like  Battleships [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148705
Kudos: 4





	It's a Damn Cold Night( I'm with You)

_Perhaps this is where our choice lies_

_in determining how we will meet the inevitable end of things_

_and how we greet each new beginning._

_\- John Steineck_

Annie stared at the half-eaten bowl of brown sugar oatmeal, turning the spoon over so her late breakfast flopped out and landed back in the bowl. She pushed the bowl across the table and briefly considered throwing it at the wall but that'd just result in a mess she'd have to clean up so instead of making a mess she stared at the wall and counted to ten and when that didn't settle her anger she tried counting to twenty which didn't work either. She stopped counting at forty.

Her phone rang again, it was on the kitchen counter and it was probably William calling to see how she was doing. Again. The multiple calls a day from her brother and Mai were starting to get annoying, at least Adam was leaving her alone most of the time but part of her understood Williams needs to worry and protect her. It was just the three of them now out of their bloodline. William had gotten married to Mai and had a son and daughter, Adam didn't date much and she didn't have the best luck with relationships. 

Or it could be Strauss again, wondering about coming back to the BAU. 

Either way, she didn't want to answer it, she didn't want to have the same conversation with her brother and lie about being okay again and she still needed time to think before giving Strauss an answer. 

She sat at her kitchen table, staring at the wall for thirty minutes before there was heard knocking on her door, Annie didn't move for a few moments before getting up and opening it. Haley was the last person she expected to see.

Haley stared at the girl for a few long moments, shocked at her appearance. She was pale and it was September, Annie was paler than her brothers but usually tanned in the summer with little effort, her red hair seemed duller and she was thinner than usual. "You look like shit," Haley spoke before she could even think about it. "I'm so sorry-"

"What." Annie interrupted, wanting to get to the point."Are you okay?" Haley asked gently, hesitating before speaking. 

Annie shrugged before speaking. "I'm good."

Haley stared at her again, debating if Annie was the right person she should be going to, at the moment she doubted so but there weren't many people Aaron trusted more than Annie. "George Foyet stabbed Aaron nine times and the Marshalls are here for me and Jack and I need you to watch out for him." She spoke quickly, unloading everything she knew on her. 

Annie sighed but nodded "Let me change and grab my bag real quick." She moved to let Haley into the living room before heading towards her bedroom, grabbed her phone as she walked by. She grabbed a white t-shirt and slipped a black flannel over it, not bothering with the buttons, and grabbed a pair of dark jeans before grabbing her boots and quickly put them on, She stared at her phone for a few seconds before leaving at voicemail for Strauss that she decided to take the job.

"Ready?" She asked, coming back into the living room and grabbed her bag from the floor near the couch, slinging it over her shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Haley asked again, eyeing the younger women. "It's just your accent comes out thicker when somethings wrong, noticeably southern."

Annie rolled her eyes, offering a tight smile. "Some shit went down but I'll be fine. I always am." She shrugged, "And, uh, sorry about being kinda a bitch since you got here.'

Haley shook her head, smiling. "We'll talk about it later."

Neither of the women mentioned it would probably be much later and it probably wouldn't even matter anymore because there would be new traumas and new cases and new victims and unsubs to haunt their dreams that she didn't want to bother Haley with, who was so good and pure and Annie wasn't about to tarnish that with all her bullshit.

They didn't speak to each other until they got to the hospital, the car ride mostly consisted of Jack asking her whatever question he could think of about dinosaurs, the places she had been to, and the animals she's seen and dragons. She was glad Jack still remembered her and still had the same obsession with dragons he had last time she's seen him.

"Look, I know someone probably told you about-" 

Annie shook her head, interrupting her. "I don't choose sides," She shrugged before continuing. "You were both incredibly kind to me when others weren't and I can not thank either one of you enough for that, it's not my place to judge something that happened between two of the best people I know."

"I," Haley paused, only speaking once she gathered all of her thoughts. "Thank you. Can you take him for a few minutes? I need to talk to Aaron and I don't want him hearing it." She gestured towards Jack.

Annie nodded, taking Jacks' hand when he stuck it out. "I can get him something to eat from the cafeteria. You hungry?" She looked down at Jack.

The little boy nodded as Haley walked away to find Aaron's room. "I want ice cream."

"You do?" Annie smiled as they started to walk towards the cafeteria. "How about some real food first, okay? I don't think your mom would appreciate it if I brought you back on a sugar high."

"Pizza?" Jack asked, looking up at her as they entered the cafeteria. 

She nodded in agreement. "How about a vegetable? Corn?" She looked down at Jack after grabbing a slice of cheese pizza for him, he crinkled his nose and made a 'bleh' sound. "I guess you still don't like it, then."

"They pop in my mouth."

"They," Annie paused, trying to understand his logic. "You like peas, peas pop in your mouth." Jack frowned, considering her logic. "How about if you at least try the corn then I'll buy you whatever candy you like."

Jack thought for a minute before he eventually nodded, she grabbed an orange just in case he didn't actually didn't like the corn. 

She sat down across from him as he started to eat his pizza, watching him.

"Why didn't you come back?" Jack asked once he was finished with his pizza.

"What do you mean?"

"After you left for Af-" Jack tried before going silent to think about the word. "Afagasistan"

Annie bit back a laugh, only to let out a soft snort. "Afghanistan." She corrected gently. "I just got a little busy."

"Is that where you train dragons?" He asked, playing with his corn.

"Jack, I don't train dragons. Why'd you think that?" 

Jack's eyes widened in shock and then he frowned. "Daddy said that's why you go away so much."

Her face fell briefly before she smiled again, hoping she could fix her mistake. "I used to train dragons but I started traveling with a special team who saves dragons from people who want to hurt them or take them from their families but I'm coming back now, I'll be working with your dad again. Now at least try your corn."

"Really?" Jack perked up. 

"Yeah, I'm staying this time." She nodded towards the corn. "Now will you at least try it?"

"Dragons don't eat corn," Jack stated as if the fact wasn't completely out of the blue.

"Actually," Annie started before another voice interrupted them, calling Jack's name.

"Mr. Rossi!" He called, waving at someone behind them. She turned around seeing JJ and Morgan staring at her in shock and David Rossi was eyeing her. Was he on the team now?

"Monroe?" JJ asked as if she needed to make sure it was actually her. 

"What's up?" She waved, turning back to check on Jack who talking to Rossi and trying to open his orange. 

"What's up with me? I'm not the one who disappeared for months." JJ exclaimed.

"Annie was saving dragons," Jack stated not looking up from his orange.

"Speaking of dragons," Annie smiled. "Dragons actually really like corn."

"How do you know?" Jack challenged.

"Because" Annie grinned, completely turning to face the boy and ignoring the strange looks from Rossi. "I know everything, remember?" Jack still didn't seem convinced and Annie blew out of her nose. "A dragon told me, okay? My best friend and I saved her kids so she told us a few things about dragon culture."

"Like that they like corn?" JJ asked, noticing Jacks interest in the story that Annie was probably coming up with as she went. "Is that all she told you?"

"Of course not!" Annie smirked, glad JJ was following along with her story. "She also told me about their magic," Her smirk turned into a sad smile as she slipped two bracelets off her wrist. They weren't anything special, just leather and fabric woven together with a rock in the middle, hers with a deep red and Alexa was a soft blue. She and her best friend had bought them from a woman selling them in Bagdhad and three months later Alexa was dead.

"Magic?" JJ prompted noticing her silence.

"Yeah," Annie spoke softly, handing both bracelets to Jack. "She made these so my friend and I could be safe whenever we have them on. You like blue, right?" When Jack nodded Annie slipped the bracelet on his wrist before using the strings on the bottom to tighten it. "We can give the other one to your mom."

"What about you and your friend?" Jack asked, looking down at his wrist. "Won't you want them back?"

She shook her head. "Neither one of us will need them anymore, dragons can make any item magical and I already have a dragon tattoo so it wasn't hard and my friend is," Annie paused for a few seconds, gathering her bearings. "Well, she's safe now."

Haley texted her only a few minutes later but Jack tried his corn and declared that he liked it so Annie bought him a chocolate bar. Jack took her hand as they walked towards the elevator, JJ, Morgan, and Rossi following close behind. As soon as the doors shut Jack tugged on her hand. 

"What about daddy?" He asked once she looked down. "He's gotta be safe too."

Annie gave him a gentle smile. "Your dad's pretty badass on his own so I don't think he needs much protection." When that didn't settle him she crouched down so she was level with him. "Jack, I will _not_ let anything happen to your dad. I swear on my life, I won't let anything happen, okay?" She stressed softly when Jack nodded she stood up, taking his hand again. 

The walk back to Hotch's room wasn't long and Jack was quickly handed off to his mom to say goodbye to his dad, It was silent for a few minutes before Morgan spoke up.

"When'd you get back?"

"I got back to the states almost three months ago but I was in Seattle with William for a bit," She took a sip of her coffee she got from the machine in the waiting room. "Been back here for about two weeks."

"So, what are doing now?" JJ spoke next. "I mean you're not exactly good at just not doing anything, you always have to be in action or something."

Annie rolled her eyes, leaning forward in the chair. "I'm coming back, Strauss asked me last week and I called her today."

"Yeah," Morgan smiled, shoving her shoulder gently. "You are pretty damn good at whatever the hell it is you do."

"Whatever the hell I do?" She laughed. 

"Do I need to make a list of all the stupid shit you've done?" Morgan laughed loudly. "I don't know which was worse, running into a burning building after Alexis Gereben or jumping into that hole after Hotch."

JJ smiled and let out a soft laugh. "Gereben had to be worse, I mean my first instinct isn't to run into a burning building after an unsub because I feel bad for them."

"The hole thing almost took both of them out and Gideon was pissed at her for weeks."

"Okay," Annie spoke up before the two could make fun of her more. "I'm going to set a few things straight because I don't want him," She pointed at Rossi. "Thinking I'm an idiot. First off, Alexis Gereben was eighteen, and the submissive one out of the two was also an abused runaway, and Savanah Clarke convinced her the people they killed were demons, and they were setting people free. Secondly, Hotch would have drowned if I didn't jump in after him because there was absolutely no way he was getting himself out in the condition he was in." 

"Who are you again?" Rossi asked, leaning around Mogan to look at her. 

"Dr. Josphine Monroe but I would appreciate it if you didn't use my first name."

"And you run into burning buildings after unsubs and jump in holes after your unit chief." He deadpanned, staring at her. 

"I'm a genius, I've spent my whole life being smarter than everyone else so, yeah I'll do stupid shit sometimes like run into burning buildings sometimes." Annie shrugged, taking a drink of her coffee and leaning back into the chair. 

Rossi rose his eyebrows at her. "Okay."

An hour and a half later she was standing at the foot of Hotch's bed, a new coffee in her hand. She wasn't even sure he was awake until he let out a heavy sigh and opened his eyes, watching her as she stood still. It was a few minutes before he spoke, motioning for her to sit down in the chair near his head of the hospital bed.

"Haley said you were here."

Annie nodded, taking a drink of her coffee. She didn't move from her original spot. "Apparently you need a babysitter or something."

"Something?" He asked, keeping his eyes on her.

"Jack still thinks I train dragons."

It was silent for a few moments until Hotch spoke again. "You look terrible."

"You just got stabbed nine times," She gave him a small smile. "You can't really say anything about me looking terrible as you and Haley have both so politely put."

Hotch let out a snort that could have been mistaken as an actual laugh if she didn't know him. "Well, you still look terrible."

She sighed, finally sitting down in the chair. "Yeah, well it's been a rough year."

_For last year's words belong to last years language_

_and next year's words await another voice._

_And to make an end is to make a new beginning._

_T.S Elliot_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely sure how long this will be but it'll be long. I'm not sure what else to say, I usually have more. Also, Grammarly is my beta but I don't know if I want to pay for it yet but if enough people say I should then I probably will, so should I? This has been in my head for months now like I have most of it planned and Annie and Aaron just live in my head rent-free right now. Thanks for reading!


End file.
